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Wednesday 13th March 2008

Acheson & Glover’s Novabrik mortarless brick cladding system is helping to reduce the time required to renovate houses by up to 40 per cent in a major refurbishment programme involving 400 homes in the north east of England.
 
The project is being carried out in south Tyneside on two estates managed by the Gateshead Housing Company under the Communities and Local Government’s (formerly ODPM) Decent Homes Initiative (DCI). At a UK national level, the initiative requires that more than 3.6m homes throughout the country are brought up to a minimum standard of repair, facilities and insulation by 2010.
 
Due to be completed this summer, the Gateshead project is being undertaken by specialist sub-contractor St Astier to remedy short comings in the design, construction and insulation values of the buildings which date back to the early 1960s.
 
It involves replacing the houses’ glazed screens and front and rear walls with new, insulated timber-framed structures faced with Novabrik brick cladding.
 
The system comprises brick sized interlocking tiles which lock together to form a weather-proof outer skin for timber framed, steel-framed or concrete panel structures. It is also suitable for use with conventional block-work walls insulated concrete formwork systems.
 
Novabrik’s main benefits are speed of installation and the fact that no wet trades are needed which means that installation can continue in virtually all weather conditions.
 
St Astier contracts director Ranson Og says that as properties remained occupied throughout the works, it was essential that security and weather tightness were maintained at all times.
 
“Speed of installation in all weather conditions was very important to us. Novabrik gave us much better control over quality and, after stripping out and replacing the old defective timberwork and windows, we could complete the re-cladding of a house within one working day, regardless of the weather.

“Overall, this has helped us reduce plot possession from ten to six weeks, which is a real benefit to the tenants,” he adds.
 
Gateshead Housing Company was also keen to improve the overall appearance of the houses. Russell Urwin, the company’s senior contract administrator for Gateshead Housing says: ”We wanted our tenants to be pleased with the look of their homes and Novabrik has a very traditional looking brick appearance. It’s also recognised as an innovative, modern method of construction. For us, it ticked all the boxes,” he adds.